What I'm Made Of
by notasquirt
Summary: Slight AU Midori is in search of revenge. But will this obsession destroy the person she was? And what connection does this have with Nebula? Has Dr. Regal resurface in the Net? chpt. 2 is up
1. Final Game

**What I'm Made Of**

**Chapter 1**

…

(Yes, I'm serious)

"Two deep breaths Midi-dono…" Midori sat in the empty locker room, head leaned up against the wall, her feet splayed along the bench. Her PET lay next to the bench on the floor, her navi coxing her to try and relax.

"Remember it's only-"

"Crap Blade! You know how many times I've heard that one!" The operator moved from her position on the bench, picking the PET up off the ground so she could look into her navi's face.

"It's the final game of the season, sorry if I happen to be a little strung out." Midori sighed, her apology making her navi snicker.

"You say that about every game. Minus the final part." Midori rolled her eyes setting the PET on the bench as she got up to change.

"Honestly though, I don't know why the coach decided to place me on point guard for the second quarter." She said, pulling her shirt off, throwing her green (of all colors, really) team jersey on.

"Well you've improved recently," Blade said as she cataloged her operator's homework, "that and you seem to forget that you complained about not being given a fair chance."

Midori frowned, pulling her shorts on, unable to come up with an adequate response. No matter how much she hated to admit it, Blade was right. She _had_ been the one that was complaining to a friend on the court about always being stuck on the post.

"Still, I don't want to be the reason we loose our undefeated title. I still think this is some sort of cruel joke." She said as she knotted her tennis shoes.

"Think what you want, but I still have the email on me." Blade commented as Midori headed over to the nearest sink.

"How 'bout I knock your PET into the sink when it's full?" Midori growled, whipping her black eyeliner off, and pulled her mousy brown hair up into a high ponytail. Her navi chuckled, returning to sorting her homework.

"Don't forget to get that English project in on Friday okay?" Blade said, adding an alarm reminder to the notice. She looked up through the PET's panel to see her operator biting her lip.

"You haven't started yet have you?"

Silence.

Her navi took in a breath to begin a long winded lecture, but thought the better of it, and let it out as an exasperated sigh. Her operator was worried enough as it was, but she wasn't just going to let it slide. They'd talk when they got home.

_If_ the team won.

"Well time to head out." Midori said, grabbing Blade off of the sink, and heading out to the gym.

The gym was humming with excitement, most of the student body in the stands or standing around the entrance talking. Midori tried to swallow the growing lump in her throat, tightening her grip on Blade's PET.

"_Remember, deep breaths."_ Midori nodded to herself, taking a breath in, heading for the benches to sit with the rest of her teammates. Facing off against Akihara school wasn't going to be easy. They had a pretty good team, but her school, Genkou Academy, had moved their practice up a notch.

"You ready Midori?" She nodded to her teammate, Shana, as she took a seat next to her, a nervous smile on her face.

"I'm just not to sure about this position swap." She admitted resting her elbows on her knees, her PET hanging in the air between her legs.

"Hey there Blade-chan." Shana said leaning closer to the screen of the PET, a cheery smile on her face.

"Same to you, Shana-sama." The navi replied, a respectfully small smile on her face. Shana giggled waggling a finger at the navi.

"No need to be so polite there, Blade," she said giving her a wink, "we're all friends." Blade fidgeted slightly, but nodded, rubbing the back of her head slightly embarrassed.

"MIDDDDOORRRIIIIIII-CHAN!" The young operator had barely a moment to react before someone side-tackled her.

"_I-ita_!" She groaned, looking down at the person who had their arms wrapped around her waist in a death grip.

"Hana-chan, you really don't need to do that." Midori sighed, struggling to un-stick her friend from her sides.

"I just wanted to come wish you good luck!" Her friend wailed, wrapping her arms tighter. Midori rolled her eyes, wedging her hands between her friend's arms.

"Well I can't do well dragging a deadweight body, now can I?" She stated teasingly, finally prying her friend off of her.

"Okay then, but I'll be cheering you on. And so will Blade, won't you?" The navi smiled, nodding.

"_Un._ Speaking of which, Midori, you should let her hold onto me while you're playing." Blade said, looking up at her operator.

Midori arched an eyebrow at the small character on the PET screen. "Trust her? I'd rather-"

"Akashi-san, time to warm up." The team coach said, grabbing the teams point guard, giving her little time to even toss her PET to Hana.

"_Guddorakku,_ Midori-chan!" Hana cheered as she headed for the stands. "Good luck!"

"Okay teams, here's the toss up." The ref held the ball in the air at shoulder height, driving Midori crazy.

"_Just toss the stupid thing already!"_ She thought grinding her teeth together. The girl across from her was giving her a strange look. Midori just kept her face straight and her legs bent, ready for the toss.

"And…Play Ball!" Leaping into the air a second before the other girl gave Midori the advantage, swiping the ball with the back of her hand, knocking it back to one of her teammates.

"Kari, pass it back here!" Midori shouted as the apposing team took their places guarding her teammates.

"Okay, good Midori! Now run circle!" Her coach yelled from the benches. Dribbling twice in place she called the play, taking off as each of her friends setting picks and exchanging places, confusing the girls guarding them.

A larger girl from the other came up beside her, arms waving in front of her, blocking the shot to the basket.

"Midori!" Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Kari, completely unguarded.

"Kari, go for the basket!" Midori yelled, passing the ball to her. Kari passed her with the ball going straight for the basket from the left side of the court.

"Oh, no you don't." Midori grunted as she set the pick on a player coming up behind Kari, blocking her just long enough to let Kari score.

The gym erupted in cheers. The game continued to go back and forth in this manner, both teams earning their fair share of points.

"Nice job so far Midori!" Her coach said patting her on the back at the third quarter. Midori nodded, panting heavily, taking a swig out of her water bottle.

"Thanks." She said, dropping into her seat with a quiet "_oof._" Shana gave her a high five and returned to tying her sneakers. She was going in for Midori while she took a quick break.

"Now, you've got two fouls so far, but nothing to bad." The coach said as he watched both the game and gave advice to Midori.

"Just make sure to watch when you're guarding their point guard. You can't stand straight while guarding or they'll call you for it— Stop the ball!" He turned his attention back to the game as Akihara stole the ball and were heading for the basket at an outrageous speed.

"Someone stop the redhead!" Midori yelled from her chair, watching the girl dribble straight down the middle of the court, Shana only a few steps behind. There was a clatter as the ball hit the backboard and rim, dancing around the edge.

A soft swish was the only sound Midori heard as she watched the ball go in, the buzzer signaling the end of the third quarter. The stands that housed the Akihara School erupted.

"_Yatta_! Nice job Mayl-chan!" One brunette from the stands yelled, cheering her on.

"You ready to go back in?" her coach looked over at Midori.

"Heck yes." She stood with the rest of her team, her face blank, but her mind running a million miles a minute. She caught glace of the scoreboard the overall score disturbing her.

Akihara: 28

Genkou: 26

"Green ball." The ref called, motioning down the court, tossing the ball to Midori. She bounced on the baseline evaluating the court quickly. Akihara seemed to figure out most of their better plays pretty quick, but all the players were so focused on their personal players, they left most of the middle court unguarded.

Taking a chance she dashed down the middle, dribbling low to the ground, although she wasn't ready for a severe collision.

The red head, Mayl dashed out in front of her in an attempt to block her shot, but Midori had too much velocity, making her move out of the way, but the red head's feet were a fraction of a second to slow.

"Kyaaahhh!" Midori let out a loud screech as her left foot was caught under Mayl's and twisted out to the left as she slipped. A loud pop echoed in her head and the audience gasped and fell silent.

Tears stinging her eyes she fought the pounding pain that emanated from her ankle, somehow getting to her feet.

"What happened?" One of the ref's asked, appearing next to her.

"She stepped on my foot, knocking me over." She gasped swallowing a sob, tears already running down her face.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Midori looked over to the Mayl, who had bowed her head in a deep apology.

"It's fine. I can still play." Midori shuddered, taking the ball from the ref. Taking a quick glance up at the clock she nearly choked. They only had a minute and a half left.

"Foul on white," the ref said motioning to the score keeper, "number 22. Here 11, take the free throw. 2 shots"

Midori caught the ball, wiping her face on the back of her hand. She took two calming breaths through her nose, bending low for the shot.

She lost contact of the ball, followed by a thud of the backboard, and gentle swish of the ball going through the net. She would have leapt for joy of making the shot, if it wasn't for the increasingly searing pain in her ankle.

The ref returned the ball to her and she tried to ignore the pain. Except this time, when she threw the ball she felt her fingers roll back in the release, already knowing it wouldn't make it in.

"Rebound Shana!"

As soon as the ball had bounced off the rim, Shana leapt into the air and grabbed it tossing it up. The ball arched over the basket, falling over the other side, into Kari's arms.

Midori tried her best to jog to the three point line without showing the excruciating pain shooting through her leg with every step.

"KARI! MAKE THE SHOT!"

Kari looked from the basket to Midori's panicked face. "TWO SECONDS!" Kari leapt into the air, doing her best to guide the ball to the basket…

The stands exploded.

**Authors Notes:** The suffix _dono_ is a very polite term (more so than _sama_) rarely used in a lot of anime. The one where you'd hear it in a lot is Rurouni Kenshin, but that's beside the point. LOTS of basketball terminology in this prologue and I apologize about that. In upcoming chapters there'll be less and more canon characters will make better appearances. If you think it's a pain to read, try writing it… (Bangs head against desk). Holy crap, long prologue! (over 2,000 words) Please R&R and let me know what you think. Reviews make me happy and encourage me to write more.

**Copyright Crap:** I don't own anything except for my own characters. I'm not making profit by writing this, it's just for fun. Don't sue me please.

**PS:** Future chapters will probably be shorter, but only if you'd like them to be.


	2. Brother

**What I'm Made Of **

**Chapter 2**

Midori ducked her head under the spray of the shower head, her tense muscles relaxing under the hot current. The locker room was quiet, save for the pelting water against the tile floor. Her PET was laying on the bench discarded carelessly, her navi not visible on the screen.

"_TWO SECONDS!" Midori watched helplessly as the ball flew from Kari's hands. It danced around the rim precariously, tipping over the side, away from the basket. Her heart fell as the buzzer went off, the cheers in the stands deafening. _

"Damn it!" She yelled punching the wall. Her hair hung in her face in ribbons, sticking to her cheeks and forehead. The look on Kari's face had been hard to swallow, the girl's eyes downcast. The coach had tried his best to cheer the team up, but it was pointless. Each girl felt like they had ruined it for the rest of the team.

Midori shut off the water, limping over to her spot in the locker cubical. Her ankle was turning an odd shade of purple as well as a good amount of swelling. She would tend to it once she got home.

"Midori-dono…" Her navi's soft voice floated from the PET. Her navi looked up through the panel at her operator sitting on the bench, sopping wet and wrapped in a towel, obviously lost in thought.

"I don't want to talk about it." Her operator stated flatly. She got up from her place going through the motions of getting dressed, not completely conscious of her actions, her navi guessed.

"Really, Midori it's not your fault." Her navi pleaded. Her operator looked down at Blade, her eyes flashing.

"Really Blade!? Then whose fault is it!?" She roared, grabbing at the sides of her head. A moment later she lifted her head, picking up her PET.

"Blade?" Her navi was missing from the screen. Her eyes widened, realizing what she'd just done.

"Blade! Oh Blade, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me." She clutched her PET staring at the screen, pleading her navi would return.

"It's alright." Her navi's soft, sweet voice rang in her ears as she appeared in a swirl of data on the screen.

Midori quietly thanked her navi, knowing this wasn't the first time her navi had ignored her when she'd lost it while upset.

"Try talking to me about it." Blade said, giving her operator a small smile. Midori nodded, taking a moment to think as she pulled her hair up into a wet ponytail.

"I just feel like I let everyone down by missing that shot." She said after a moment, lying back on the bench, pulling her PET onto her chest.

"Imagine how Kari feels, missing the rebound." Midori took a moment to consider what her navi had said.

"True, but I could have saved her that disappointment if I'd made it." Her navi sighed, shaking her head.

"'Could haves' and 'ifs' will get you nowhere in life, Midori." Her navi said gently, happy to listen to the beating of her operator's heart. It was Midori's silent way of apologizing for getting mad.

"I know, and I'll probably get over it, I just hate the feeling of letting someone down." Her navi nodded, a small beep from within the PET startling them both.

"It's an email from _jikei_! (_jikei_ an affectionate older brother)" Midori's eyes flew open, immediately jerking upright in anticipation.

"He says he's at home and that if you're still at school he can come pick you up." Blade said excitedly, looking from the email that had opened on a virtual panel, up at her operator. Midori could also tell Blade was excited to see him.

"Let him know I'll be in the coffee house in town. He can pick us up there." Midori grabbed her school bag, limping out of the locker room, her outlook on the rest of the day suddenly brighter.

"_He's home! Finally, he's come to visit!"_ Midori headed down the busy sidewalk, her PET still clutched to her chest.

"He says he'll be glad to meet you there," Blade giggled as she continued to read, "Look, he even attached a recent photo of himself." Midori pulled the PET away from her chest to look.

Her _jikei_ was looking up at her, a broad smile across his face, obviously taken with one hand, judging by the weird camera angle. His sandy brown cut was hanging in his eyes; probably due time for a cut, but Midori didn't care. It'd been too long since she'd seen him.

She picked up her pace, despite her ankle, eager to see him.

"Midori-chan!" The young basketball player picked up her pace seeing her brother standing in front of the coffee house. Her uniform skirt flapped against her legs and her ankle throbbed, but she didn't feel any of it.

"Heiji-kun!" She cried, leaping into the young twenty-year-old's outstretched arms. A few people cast looks in their direction but neither of them cared.

"I missed you!" she cried, pulling her face away from his chest, looking up at him.

"Well, I'll be back for a while." He said smiling down at her. He frowned, taking a closer look at her.

"What happened to your ankle?" Midori winced, looking down at her black and blue ankle, the pain creeping up her leg.

"Nothing much. Just twisted it in basketball." Midori said, her face flushing a light shade of red.

"I'll help you wrap that when we get home, but until then-" He grabbed her hand leading her into the coffee shop, "let's get something while we're here."

Heiji lead his younger sister to the nearest booth, near one of the large windows looking out on the busy streets.

"So how's Blade?" He asked, taking a seat across from her, folding his hands under his chin.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Midori asked playfully, pulling her PET out of its holster, located on her hip, holding it out for him to see.

"Hello Heiji-kun." Blade said quietly blushing slightly. Heiji was the only one who she would address with a more playful suffix. He smiled back the navi and operator.

"Hi, may I help you two?" A waitress asked, coming up to the sibling's table.

"Yeah, can we get two cups of coffee? Oh! And one with extra whip cream?" The waitress nodded heading back behind the counter.

Midori giggled looking back at her brother across the table. "You still remember my favorite way to have my coffee." He laughed, his almond eyes sparkling.

"Well yeah, after that one time I got the wrong type and you spit it out, all over me." He said playfully. Midori's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.

"I was just surprised. I mean not only did you forget the whip cream, but you forgot sugar and milk all together. It was bitter!" She complained, Blade laughing at her operator from her place at on the table.

"I was tethered around his neck at that time!" Blade complained, looking up at her operator, "My screen was an odd shade of brown for the rest of the week! Did you bother to clean it off? Noooo!" Blade looked back at Heiji, sticking her tongue out at him.

All three were silent a moment after Blade's playful outburst, Midori the first one to break it with a fit of giggles. Heiji and Blade looked over at her, broad smiles breaking out over their faces, joining Midori in laughter.

By the time the waiter came back with their drinks, each had settled down, a few giggles escaping every few moments, only to be quickly swallowed. "So brother, how's your new job going?" Midori said taking a breath to calm herself.

"Oh, it's great!" He said taking a sip of his coffee before continuing. "Turns out that field we had appeared over the city had shown up over other areas in the world." He said, dropping his voice to an excited whisper, Midori and her navi listening intently. Both had been in school when the Area Field had appeared, but amazingly hadn't run into any trouble, unlike some people, or buildings had. The area the team Midori had just played was hit the worst, and had taken some time to recover.

"So any word on conspiracies circulating about the incident?" Midori took a long sip of her drink. She loved conspiracies, and a major net incident with limited release information and a brother who had a good amount of information on the subject excited her.

"Well all my team knows for now is that SciLabs is somehow involved." He said leaning back in his chair. "A bunch of photos had been circulating around the net afterwards, but recently, site domains have been frozen, photos removed, witnesses paid off, and all these actions have been linked back to that research building." He frowned taking another sip.

"Were you able to find anything? Photos, video, notes? Anything?" She was getting excited now, leaning forward in her seat.

"A couple photos were collected from a domain that was somewhat easily hacked and easy to collect bare data from. Nothing to great or beneficial." He sighed pulling the negatives out of his coat cotton shirt pocket, pushing them across the table. Midori grabbed them holding them up to the dim café light. A couple blurs in motion, difficult to discern the color of due to the negative's nature, but something that could be cleaned up with a computer program. The figures were placed awkwardly in the picture; and a black blur took up the majority of the background.

"Any plans to clean these up?" Midori asked, pushing them back to her brother. Blade sat on the PET screen lost in thought.

"I got it!" Both Midori and Heiji looked over at the navi, her sudden out burst surprising both of them.

"I think I have an idea on how to figure this out."

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, Midori's a crazy conspiracy theorist. Come on, an event like that and of course the government is gonna try and cover it up the best they can. Anyways I think I've been doing pretty well when it comes to length. Let me know if you think if it needs to be shorter. And please leave reviews, they make this writer happy.

**P.S: **I've heard the term Mary Sue thrown around a lot in FanFic writing and I wanted to know what it means exactly. My basic knowledge of it is that it's a bad thing and in a lot of self insert stories. Kudos' to anyone who can enlighten me!

**Copyright:** Me no own Rockman. Me poor American. You sue and get only my shoes.


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